General blather

Adventures in Dairyland

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DH and I took a little mini-break this past weekend and went to explore some more of Wisconsin. Saturday we went to House on the Rock. This place – I can’t really even describe it. It starts with a very, very groovy house built, as the name implies, way up on top of a very large rock. It is very oddly proportioned, and has a strong tiki/Flintstones sort of a vibe to it. I liked it a lot.

One big feature of the house is the infinity room, which is a big long cantilevered walkway out over a valley. There are no supports under it. It is apparently engineered to adjust when there are a lot of people out in it. Then I thought about the fact that the walls in the house were carpeted with red shag carpet, and did not go all the way out to the end. This was not built by a person with good judgement. All I kept thinking was – I don’t want to die in a tourist trap disaster, but if I do go out that way it will not surprise anyone who knows me.

So beyond the house itself are enormous building full of stuff. So, so much stuff. Collections of collections. The collection includes normal collectibles, like model ships and dolls, and then other things that are not generally considered collectible , like giant industrial stills and pipe organs. And carousel animals, and also there is a 200 foot long sculpture of a whale and an octopus fighting.

You walk about 3 miles as you go through the place, surrounded by stuff the whole way. I started out charmed, then got overwhelmed about halfway through. I’m still not sure how I feel about it.

Then we stayed in Mt Horeb, which is famous for having troll statues all over town. We ate dinner at the Grumpy Troll brewpub šŸ™‚ It was pretty good!

Sunday morning we went to nearby Cave of the Mounds! We love commercial caves, and this is a pretty good one. Commercial caves tours are usually either packed with good science information or packed with hokum. This one is the science type, which is great because you usually learn something. I enjoy the hokey ones too, but in a much different way.

All in all, it was a pretty good weekend! I’m glad we finally got to House on the Rock – it really is an interesting place! And Cave of the Mounds was a geological joy šŸ™‚

What is your favorite mini-adventure you have gone on?

15 thoughts on “Adventures in Dairyland”

  1. Goodness me that place seems pretty wacky to me. Nope nope nope to standing on a walkway where my brain refuses to understand the science of how itā€™s not supposed to fall and bring the building with it. Such a fun adventure though. For mini breaks Iā€™ve had lots of fun ones in Europe with Helen but I loved when husband, dog and I stayed in a shepherdā€™s hut on the north coast of Scotland with a view of the sea, sheep, cute pigs and a sunset. I guess I just like any excuse to be away.

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  5. These are some fun mini-expeditions! I would have liked the cave a lot more than the house.

    My favorite mini-expedition in my area recently was to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It’s close enough that we can make it a day trip if we want to, but far enough that it doesn’t feel weird when we want to splurge and make an overnight of it. I love the Aquarium, though, and also walking along Cannery Row or the beach and just listening to the ocean.

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